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creeky
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2015 11:38am
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thx groingo. last summer groingo posted on techniques for passive cooling.
In my part of the world we are in the midst of a heat wave. It's hot and it's humid.
So I thought I'd try Groingo's idea and go three sheets to the wind.
What passive solar tricks are you using?
More:
My solar shed, sheet one. The sheet keeps that mid/late west sun off the door and wall. Results are a drop in battery temps of 4 degrees and the inverter is no longer running its fan.
Sheet two is the bedroom. No results to speak of as I just put it up. But it will keep the late afternoon sun out of the biggest window. As you can see from the tree and wild grape leaves, its pretty shaded and actually stays comfortable on its own.
Sheet three is for my studio. Note the green shade cloth over the air conditioner also. The sheet is keeping the sun from hitting the doors in the late afternoon. It also keeps the deck from burning my feet when I step outside.
I will add: as some of you have seen in my posts I have a "cool roof" design for my washroom. My washroom is now insulated and with the cool roof is staying comfortable with no additional cooling required. The cool roof continues to surprise me with its effective passive solar cooling.
sheetone.jpg
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sheettwo.jpg
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sheetthree.jpg
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Wilbour
Member
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2015 01:02pm
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Nice work. Nasty stains on one sheet though 
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2015 01:55pm
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The more white you can get the better it reflects the sun, ultimately I am planting summertime screening schrubs (scientific name....weeds) around the place to provide a more year round buffer.
I also picked up a couple of small USB 5 inch fans that can be used to circulate air or better yet blow it directly on you which has worked fantastic this season which has been a hot one.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2015 04:30pm
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oh. the blue spotted and tan sheets are painting sheets. jeez Wilbour.
i suppose I could head to the sallyanne and pick up some clean sheets.
in white. 
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Steve961
Member
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2015 06:38pm
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The best way to reduce heat buildup in a cabin is to design for it in the first place. When designing my cabin I used SketchUp to eliminate any solar gain during the warmest 6 months of the year. SketchUp has a feature where you can set the coordinates of your virtual cabin and display the shaded and sunlit areas of your cabin for any date and time. SketchUp showed that I needed to incorporate about 3 foot eaves over all my southern windows.
I also designed for a massive amount of airflow in my attic. The ceiling of my 1 story cabin is insulated above, and the warm air over it exits out a ridge vent and both side gables which are screened and covered with corrugated steel panels. I have about 22 square feet of venting under my eaves to supply cooler air to the attic space. My cabin ceiling never feels warm to the touch, unlike my home where heat radiates from the ceiling into the living space in the summer.
Between eliminating the solar gain through the windows and ventilating the attic, my cabin is almost always cooler on the inside than on the outside in the summer.
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2015 07:03pm
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The one huge stumbling block I have is the sheets reduce direct sunlight but once the outside air heats your building itself, you loose.
Short of using an air conditioner, the only thing you can do is wait for shade to cool the place.
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Steve961
Member
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2015 10:10pm - Edited by: Steve961
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Instead of waiting for shade, you can always build it. Here's an interesting desert house with a secondary roof to provide shade all around the building.
Desert Dream House Design
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 30 Jul 2015 05:59am
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Well, day three of the heatwave. The sheets are helping.
I cool the buildings at night. Close them up during the day. No mystery there. Keep the sun off. I continue to be able to keep my batteries under 30C. Yesterday I ran the a/c from 4 to 6 in the studio, that was fine. And the bedroom stayed comfortable. Mostly due to insulation and tree provided shade.
Steve that's a neat idea. I might try shading the roof on the studio or increase ventilation in the attic next. Thx for the ideas.
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turkeyhunter
Member
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# Posted: 30 Jul 2015 06:33am
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I usually use 100 percent Egyptian cotton sheets....600 to1000 thread count at my CAMP  ...and turn the AC down to 68 deg..that really helps a lot in the heat wave we are having here in the deep south. It is so HOT these last few days!!! I am ready for FALL
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Wilbour
Member
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# Posted: 30 Jul 2015 07:26am
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Quoting: creeky the blue spotted and tan sheets are painting sheets. jeez Wilbour.
Sorry creeky - Our DNA lab across the road deals with items like this all the time. Honest mistake.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 30 Jul 2015 09:35am - Edited by: creeky
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Wilbour 
like I wasn't hot enough.
Turkey, once I have my lithium battery pack i'll be running the a/c all night too
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